TRADE FACILITIES ACT.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether any applications for assistance under the Trade Facilities Act have been made in connection with trade with Russia; if so, what they have been; and what action has been taken in respect of them?

Only two definite applications under the Trade Facilities Act have been received by the Trade Facilities Act Advisory Committee, one from Arcos, Limited, for a guarantee of £2,000,000 for tramp steamers which the Advisory Committee were unable to recommend; the other, from Centrosoyus (England), Limited, of £100, 000 for the purchase of agricultural machinery, is still under
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consideration. With regard to applications under the Export Credits Scheme, as my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Department of Overseas Trade stated in reply to the hon. and gallant Member for Central Hull on the 25th June, the question of the extension of the Export Credits Scheme to Russia is still under consideration by His Majesty's Government. I understand from my hon. Friend that in these circumstances no formal applications for credits for Russia have been submitted, but certain preliminary inquiries have been made at the Export Credits Department. In most of the cases the amounts concerned have not been stated.

Are we to understand that an application for credits with a view to building ships to the value of £2,000,000 has been refused or turned down by the Advisory Committee, and, if so, do we understand that the Government accept that point of view?

I understand that the two companies mentioned are Arcos, Limited, and Centrosoyus (England),
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Limited, Of course, that is under the Trade Facilities Act, and I think the hon. and gallant Member referred to export credits, a matter which is, of course, under a different Department.

With regard to the two companies for which credits were applied for under the Trade Facilities Act, to which the right hon. Gentleman referred, namely, Arcos, Limited, and Centrosoyus (England), Limited, are they foreign or British registered companies; and, if they are British, does he know whether they are controlled by British nationals or by foreign nationals?

Are we to understand, from the reply of the Financial Secretary, that, because in a Debate in this House certain Members interested in shipping alleged that there was an oversupply of shipping, the shipping industry in this country is to remain stagnant until such time as that oversupply is exhausted?

No; the point is rather this, that, obviously, in a scheme of this kind, it would be a manifest injustice to the taxpayers of this country to guarantee anything which could not be remuneratively employed, and the fact is that, so far from having failed to assist shipping, we have given £13,000,000 of guarantees to British shipping. Beyond that I think it would be rather difficult to go.